My Observations About Money and Health Care ~ An Open Letter To My Practice Members ~
About ten years ago I remember putting off needed dental care which I was required to pay out-of-pocket since I did not carry dental insurance. I rationalized this by using the financial hardship excuse to convince myself and my dentist that I needed to postpone this care for a later date. By the way, during this time I spent a few thousand dollars on a vacation to Arizona that I could have easily postponed, as well as a new car lease which was also not immediately necessary. Needless to say (bet you can guess what comes next) about a month later, in the middle of this vacation, a horrible toothache started which became worse each day and virtually ruined the rest of my trip.
The neglected dental situation wound up costing me eight times what the preventive expense would have been. This included three root canals, two tooth extractions, a dental bridge, and additional cavity and gum treatment. Wow… what a painful wake up call! Suffice to say, I now visit my dentist 3 - 4 times a year for prevention and maintenance care and thereby avoid future financial burdens by caring for potential problems early on, rather then fixing expensive, chronic, and more difficult situations later. I was furious with myself. What happened to my plain old common sense and discernment?
Lesson learned the hard way for Dr. Freddy.
Doctors in my own profession see this rampant neglect on a daily basis and what is so distressing for the patient to experience, and us doctors to witness (obviously) is not only the short-term suffering, but the long-term degenerative effects that manifest within our most crucial biological life-line – our spine and nervous system.
The ‘Penny Wise-Pound Foolish’ proverb certainly comes to mind, and is one of the most self-evident realities we experience in life in many ways. It’s funny (actually weird and depressing) how most of us will bring our vehicles in for essential maintenance & prevention services (oil, brakes, wipers, belts, tires, fluids, etc..) a few times a year – and pay those expenses out-of-pocket – long before any of these components break down or cause ‘symptoms’. Yet we rarely make that important connection with our own physical well-being! Especially regarding our crucial spinal system. It's still so hard after so many years in practice to wrap my head around that. Do we really care more about the health of our cars then our own bodies, and those of our children?
Quite baffling, indeed.
There is a curious thing my colleagues and I have noticed over the years regarding tendencies and attitudes many people have with reference to their health care and finances. Ironically, this at times even includes us, those who are making the observations – as my own story above illustrates. So therefore, please know that what I express here is without arrogance, condescension, or a presumptive disposition at all, merely an attempt to address something that has perplexed me since I opened my office over 30 years ago.
I’m sure social scientists have found it quite puzzling, illogical, troubling, and at times humorous the manner in which we humans decide priorities. When studying people’s buying habits there are a few general patterns that emerge.
There’s an old saying that goes, and I paraphrase; “When someone deeply desires and values something they will usually find the time, money, energy, and persistence to obtain it, come what may.”
Of course this is not an absolute reality (what in life is?) – but this certainly is widely recognized in our society even when personal time and money is limited, as in challenging economic periods like we are currently experiencing. More often then not consumers just seem to be able organize resources to meet priorities, which is always fueled by a compelling inner motivation and emotional energy in a quest to pursue interests consistent with desires and values.
What is peculiar in the arena of health/wellness care is the phenomenon where a health care consumer will convince themselves that receiving regular or even periodic care is unaffordable, yet wind up paying many times that amount per month on activities and/or products that are either unnecessary, frivolous, or ironically quite harmful to their health. Does anyone see a problem with this?
Invariably when having an open/honest financial discussion with an established or prospective patient who expresses an affordability issue, the dialogue generally presents itself this way;
Dr. Fred: So (patient name) I am aware you feel it is financially difficult or impossible to start or continue care – is that true?
Patient: Yes Dr. Fred I just can’t afford regular / frequent visits at this time due to……..
Dr. Fred: So instead of feeling financially pressured to be here 2 – 3 times a week right now (even though that may be optimum) – why not come once a week, or twice a month, or even once a month – certainly you understand that some care is much better then none at all, yes? You do understand the significance of supportive/wellness care and how in the long run it will save you much time and money on ill health, and unnecessary suffering & pain, yes?
Patient: Yes definitely – I see your point, and really do love your care and feel so much better and healthier because of it, but…. I can’t even afford once-a-month visits.
Dr. Fred: Really? Is that true? Do you know this to be absolutely true? You may be correct and I don’t want to invade your privacy and personal space – but I want to ask you to make some definitive calculations on your own. Make a list of everything no matter how small, inexpensive, or insignificant it may be that you spend money on every month (even a candy bar) – excluding your fixed expenses like rent, mortgage, utilities, car, debts / loans, etc.
Let’s see….
- Alcohol/beer/wine/soft drinks = $______
- Junk food like candy, cakes, ice cream, pizza, coffee, etc. = $______
- Cigarettes, over-the-counter drugs/recreational drugs, etc. = $______
- Car washes, maid service, lawn service, restaurants, etc. = $______
- Movies/ DVD’s/ CD’s/cable TV/magazines/other entertainment = $______
- Health club/yoga classes/other club-related expenses = $______
- Other non-essential items, and all other ‘luxury’ expenses i.e.;
facials, manicures, sports, concerts, etc. = $______
You get my drift, yes? I did this accounting process myself a few years ago and it was an eye-opening experience to say the least. I embarked on a truly honest assessment, stripping away all feeble rationalizations. The immediate shocking revelation that came to my awareness was how much hard-earned money I spent on products and services that were either unnecessary, addiction-driven, distraction/boredom-motivated, and downright frivolous and/or unhealthy. Interesting how most of our purchases are indeed – as many behavioral experts contend - emotionally fueled, and often ‘impulsive’ even though the mind will cleverly convince us otherwise, as was the case for me in the above experience.
As I realized more clearly the self-deception that was going on, my game of rationalization and false excuses ended for me.
We have an old saying in Chiropractic, “If your spine was on your face you would take better care of it!” This expresses the simple idea that because our spine is hidden from view we don’t even know it exists. In contrast, if we notice another wrinkle, blemish, discoloration on our faces in the mirror we tend to become highly motivated in dealing with these issues. Observe how our population becomes so overly obsessed with these six square inches of flesh in the front of our heads, whereas the all-important conduit of life and nerve energy – our spinal system - is so easily neglected.
Only if we notice a distortion, or feel pain, pressure, or conscious tension in, and or, around our vertebral column it concerns us. Yet we all know that waiting for symptoms to arise and get worse before receiving care is quite risky, if not outright dangerous, as seen in many instances like heart attacks and cancer where often no warning signals ever arise until later stages. Spinal degeneration similarly takes years to advance before we become conscious of back pain, stiffness, or other more severe problems. In fact its presence isn’t even seen on x-rays until the middle and later stages of the process. Do I even need to even mention the emotional and financial toll it takes on our lives when we wait for potential problems to eventually become major difficulties?
Admittedly, we in the Chiropractic profession need to do a more effective job in educating the public about regular prevention, maintenance, and advancement of spinal care in a similar manner to how the dental profession successfully accomplished this over the past one hundred years or so. Most Americans have their teeth and oral health checked a few times a year without even debating it in their minds – many with no dental insurance. Its importance is self-evident. Same as with our automobile maintenance mentioned above – and remember car maintenance and minor repair expenses are not covered by insurance either. I ask you – is your spine that houses your central nervous system which in turn animates every cell, tissue, organ, and system in your body any less important then our cars and our teeth?!
Does this make sense to you? Please contemplate these ideas as seriously as anything else you may ponder in your life. Maintaining and enhancing health, well-being, and the quality of our lives is certainly worth that kind of focused consideration… isn’t it?
Your feedback, questions, and comments are enthusiastically welcomed. So feel free to chat with me in the office or email me at:
kingsburywellness@gmail.com
Wishing You Abundant Health, Joy, and Vitality,
~ DocFreddy
As an attempt to engage my readers in contemplation regarding life's mysteries and the deeper questions of our existence I offer below so
